Monthly Archives: June 2008

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Blizzard announced Diablo 3 at the Invitational, but really what I wanted was a Wrath launch date. I know Diablo was a good game, and Diablo 2 was even better. Yes, I will play it, and yes I think they will do an excellent job.

I’m just a junkie for all things World of Warcraft, and can’t wait for the next WoW Expansion. So 10 points for the new Diablo, but minus several hundred for not annoucing the WotLK date.

Bring on the demons, the mindless voicence, and the anti-gamer hate from the misunderstanding right. Where did I put my Abyssal Membership Card?

If you’re also keen for WoW Wrath details you’ll be pleased to know that a lot of new infomation is hitting the air during the convention, and I’m keenly reading as much of the websites, blogs, and bathrom walls to get all the rumours. However I’d say its still not official until they give us documented intentions, and even then not final.

As a response to security concerns and account hacking it seems that Blizzard will facilitate an optional security token system. Initially I though this was a late April fools joke, but after taking off my cynical hat, maybe some users will like this. I really don’t know.

If it works for all Blizzard games going forward and remains an optional device – its a good thing. It raises a question about using different PCs, how many could be authorised, and what customer support will be needed.

My humble opinion is that this will not be broadly adopted. I certainly won’t be using one as I move between so many machines and have a tendency to loose my keys.

A software based solution might make more sense, and if Blizzard really want to stop accounts being hacked, they should:

change out account name as well as password

set minimum complexity rules

have the wow forums using a different login to the account login.

don’t show “account already in use” when creating a new account name. When creating my account I was told that my first few choices were already in use. Thats half the user/pass combination hacked right there.

what about areas outside USA for customer support?

Edit: Apparently these only sell to the USA and Europe (which sucks if true), and the one authenticator can be used on any number of accounts; which is great.

Been flat out recently with work/life balance all out of wack. Somehow still found the time to devote to my online addiction. The stuff below has been distracting me. *Intollerant rant warning*

Distractions

After a time my attention span lapses and another Alt appears. My last effort got a Mage to level 41, and before that I was tooling around with a Druid who only hit 17. Recently I took up again and am playing around with a Druid again; damn they are a great class to grind with. All the Druid class needs is a long stun or 100% effective flee button and they’ll be unstoppable.

As an aside the Druid and Hunter combo that got killed by the huge dinosaur in Un’Goro made my day. Not becuase they were kill stealing moments before, and not because they died fighting it; but because they then stood there long enough for it to kill them a 2nd time on its return path. That made my night.

Please also check out the iArmory if you have a iPhone or portable device; its great. Huge kudos to Elad from Omen of Clarity for this tool. And if you need a 2nd opinion check out this review.

Comedy

“MMORPG – Many Men Online Role Playing Girls”, was said in a forum post a while ago, and I like it. I have a few female toons too. You’ve all heard the line “I play a girl because I’d rather look at one”, well that might be so; but personally I play female toons because some of the male character models are crap. /Shrug.

This post on badges, with a V rather than a B got the attention of a Blue; but I really think the Blue created the storm in this teacup. If the purile kiddies need to post and giggle, let them. It might help keep them away from screwing up actual content, or pugging. We can’t shut them down, so having them all drooling and one-hand-playing in a forum thread is ok as long as I don’t have to moderate it. Or ban their accounts from posting till Lich is released.

Achievements

Enchanting 375 on my Warlock was a long time comming by I’m really pleased to get there. Not that there is much more that can be done at 375, but it adds to the sense of completion and character progression.

Engineering almost 375 on my Paladin, so that will happen soon; which does not add anything that I can use, but is still nice to have.

Skinning at 300 for my Druid; so now ready to skin and enjoy the grind upward to 375.

The Swearjar has over $20 in it now, and I have no idea what it will total by the time WotLK hits.

Finding gear on your toons is a constant goal while leveling, and then becomes the primary target for the way to differentiate yourself from other players at 70.

Class dependency and spec choice will help determine what upgrade path is best, and many specific class sites, blogs, and forums will help with this (but please keep reading).

However a key point I have noticed in the change from pre-70 to 70 is the realisation that the upgrades, patches, and enchants for gear is critical in improving your gear.

I like to think about it like the player is taking responsibility for the condition of their character and the manner that character affects the world.

Spending the materials and time in getting it properly setup may be seen as a waste, as the gear might change; but that gear may also stay static for several weeks. Over those weeks you are reaping the reward of applying the enchant. I agree to a point that you should not waste enchant mats, but simple armour kit or enchant can help your team not suffer as much.

The effort to carry your character through an instance that has not applied some simple upgrades can be noticeable to the other players. And the good news is that these upgrades can also have a reverse bonus affect, they can increase your gear to a level well above basic performance. By enchanting and buffing your gear everyone wins.

Honestly there is no excuse when you have a 70, as money from daily quests will allow you to purchase most simple updates. The exception to this is Rep Reward upgrades which will be a while away for recent 80s, and most players can appreciate those being missing. The next time I see a toon with no enchants and no patches, I’ll be speaking out immediately.

Lastly as a rant on the side – Why then can my enchanter not be used to advantage on my other characters?

It is a totally broken aspect of the game, and while I suspect Blizzard will fix this eventually, I think the fix will only be in response to an external force (such as game feature comparisons). I don’t care if these were Bind to Account (BtA) so that only alts could use them; and imagine how cool it would be to scan the AH for Enchanting Kits the same way we can Armor Kits (Leatherworking), Scopes (Engineering), Spell Weave (Tailoring), Gems (Jewelcrafting) etc.

Please Blizzard, allow us to create Enchanting Kits, to swap between our characters.

Patch 2.4.3 notes have been posted, and I like them. There seems to be a huge focus on lower level content and peripheral things like non-combat pets and fashion. Also some bug-fixes that I had no idea were around.

My highlights are:

New junk to buy from Haris Pilton, but most importantly a 22 slot bag for 1200g. Sheesh that’s expensive, but certainly accessible (just like the personality). Its also BoE so you can send it to somebody as a gift – how very Paris.

Mounts at level 30, is a great change. Its a significant sign that you are making progress, and will help accelerate the leveling process. Also added are some new mount types and skins, but thats guff-guff compared to all the new level 30-32 characters who were previously abandoned.

Warlocks – Curse of Everything! The CoE and CoS have been combined into CoE, so that Warlocks now have one Curse for added damage rather than two. Huzah. Nothing that I was looking for, but a great benefit for raids that have more than one Warlock. Now one Lock can keep everyone happy, and the other can use a different Curse for fun and pleasure.

Mining – green gems are back. Nice.

Tailoring – More recipes (about frigging time), and removal of the Mooncloth cool down. 28 slot Herbalism pouches are exciting, but I suspect we may need Sporegar Rep to get it. Hope not, or those Naga are going suffer in their thousands.

Summoning from a Heroic to a Raid will work – Good. I thought I had already done this, but cant really recall.

Shattered Sun Pendant of Acumen – now works with DoTs – Nice, now I want one.

This time the transporter extracted all the evil thoughts from my pally, and only his good side remained. Goodness makes you slightly yellow and transparent (consider that for a moment). A larger version taken at Toshley Station is here.

The Engineering teleporters are pretty cool, and one of the key reasons I kept Engineering. And as strange as it may sound I like that every now and then they go wrong. You can be pop’ed in the air to potentially fall to your death (parachute cloak FTW), come out as a monster, a shade of half yourself, or even you evil twin.

Yesterday I saw my paladin’s evil twin. All quasi-translucent and red. Like a Shadow Priest, but full of red rage.